Masks
by RebeccaJoy98
Summary: Salem still questioned the decision to run away from her foster parent's home. She still questioned whether she could have managed her "abilities" if she had stayed. She didn't even know if her reasons to come here were valid. The rumors were just—rumors. Yet, her powers need to be contained, and the Teen Titans sounded like just the group to help her. -I don't own the Titans!
1. Chapter 1

The lights of Jump City showed brightly around me. I had finally made it. The trip had been long and grueling, but here I am.

_What if I really am alone?_

_What if there are no other kids like me?_

_What if there are, but I'm too different for them?_

_What if…_

_What if…_

_What if…_

I pushed back the blur of worries but in slipped another slew of thoughts: hundreds of miles away in my hometown of Greenhill my foster parents would be arriving home from their relentless jobs and find their daughter to be missing. They'd be filled with grief, anger, regret, and briefly, they'd be filled with sheer joy for being removed of the burden that I had been on them for the past fourteen years I've been alive.

The scents from a nearby food vender tugged at my senses. I hadn't had a decent meal in two days, if you don't count the half box of stale graham crackers I found while camping in a tree house in someone's back yard. I was incredibly thirsty, too. My last drink had been from a water-fountain in a rest station two hours ago. It's not that I didn't bring any money; it was that I wanted to save it in case I couldn't find _them _right away. I tugged out a crumpled five dollar bill and headed for the tantalizing smell.

The vendor was quiet and melancholy as he gave me my sweet tea and my chicken strips. I would have asked him what was wrong, but I had the feeling that sort of thing didn't go over well in the big city—well, that, and I already knew what was wrong. It was a part of my powers. I could hear people's thoughts, jump into their minds, implant ideas, and I've even controlled someone before. I'm a monster.

I walked toward a small bench on the side of the road, most likely an old bus stop. I hungrily scarfed down my meal and sucked down my tea. It was all gone in a matter of minutes. A slur of anxious thoughts entered my mind as a large man walked toward me. To avoid the stranger, I hopped off the bench and on to the road, hurrying across the street to the other side.

"Hey, cutie, where are you going?" He called out to me. I chanced a glance back at the man drawing nearer. I hurried my pace slightly and headed down the street. I could hear some rancid thoughts from the man as he became equally as fast as me.

_Faster. Faster. Faster. I did not come all this way to become this man's entertainment of the night._

Shifting directions, I walked toward a darker street, hoping he wouldn't see me. I dashed quickly and ran to the alley. Upon entering the street I found another opportunity to look back at my pursuer. He had followed me in and was grinning deviously. I turned quickly and ran faster into the darkness—then I hit it. A wall.

"Nowhere to go now, sweetie." His voice drawling out, hard liquor dripping off of his slurred vowels.

I backed against the wall,"J-just leave m-me alone! I d-don't want to h-hurt you!"

"Please, what would a pretty little thing like you be able to do to me?" He laughed.

"Hopefully y-you won't have t-to find out!" due to a nervous stutter, my threats sounded empty.

"Don't worry, doll, I just want to play." I suddenly felt cool fingers on my cheek.

"Then come play." The voice entered the alley. It was strong and loud, yet its owner couldn't be much older than me.

Confusion gripped the man as he turned his head and saw the boy. Once again he chuckled as if this was all a silly game.

"Oh no, a little boy! What am I going to do?" The man said in a mock-scared voice.

"You're going to go to jail." The boy jumped up and landed softly in front of me, blocking the way of the man.

A look of shock slid onto his face as he saw the boy clearly, but was quickly replaced with his grin, "Now, now, Robin, just go and leave me to my prey." I winced at the word 'prey'.

_Robin? As in the leader of them? The others like me?_

Robin moved swiftly and suddenly had a long silver staff. He wacked the man hard in the head and he stumbled backward, obviously having a headache from his already drunken mind. The man stood back up and grabbed his head, but lashed back surprisingly fast and grabbed Robin around his legs before punching him in the gut. Robin let out a low moan.

_Think, Salem! Think!_

I focused directly on the man's mind. Slipping down to my knees as my temples throbbed.

'_Stop fighting. You don't want to do this.'_

He instantly got off of Robin. I looked warily at his eyes. They were now glowing silver, which was a side effect of my mind powers. A new wave of pain shot over my head with each look into the man's head.

_'Now sit in the corner.'_

My commands were strong yet sounded as if I were scolding a child. Still, the man listened and sat in the corner of the alley. Robin brushed himself off and looked warily at the guy.

"What just happened?" He mumbled.

I carefully raised my hand as if in trouble. I expected Robin to give the _look_, you know the one that everyone gives me when they first experience my powers? But he didn't, he stuck his staff back in his belt and walked over to me.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." I brushed off my jeans as I stood. My head felt light from focusing so hard.

"How'd you do that?" He held me up by underarms when I waivered standing.

"I'm—unique—you could say. I have these _abilities." _I explained.


	2. Chapter 2

*Salem's POV*

After feeling the comfort of a couch and heating again, I fell into a deep sleep as soon as Robin brought me to the tower last night. The whole chase was a blur. I could barely remember my first looks at the tower.

Everything was so chaotic and messy around here, it wasn't hard to tell that five unsupervised teenagers lived in this building. I sat idly by while all the other Titans had their daily routines; I mainly sat in the gym watching Robin and Cyborg doing their training.

"So, do you people have some sort of library around here?" I asked loudly, trying to break the awkward sounds of grunting of straining muscles.

Robin ducked a punch from his partner," No, but we have the Tower's database, if you want I can go through it with you—"He threw a swift blow to Cyborg's lower leg, causing him to trip.

"Thanks." I got up off the wall, and waited by the door for Robin to collect himself after his fight. I took me forever this morning to even find another soul in the tower after waking up, so I definitely didn't want to attempt to find something in particular.

Robin soon appeared at my side, "So what do you want to look up, Salem?"

"I wanted to read on what I could do with my powers—you know since I can only do stuff on accident—well, except for reading thoughts—that's pretty easy—"

"Are you ok? You seem kind of—nervous?" Robin held out his arm to stop me gently.

"I'm ok, I just—don't know—like the full extent of my abilities. What if I can't handle them?"

"Trust me, I've known my share of people with uncontrollable powers, and the only reason they were that way was because they didn't believe that they could control them. Just, don't underestimate yourself." Robin smiled widely at me. I could see slight dimples in his cheeks, though his mask hid his eyes, I could tell they were looking at me.

"Thanks, Robin." He dropped his arm and led me the rest of the way to an elevator. We went up maybe two or three floors before entering into a hall that I recognized as the main floor of the tower. The path to the Titan's living room was slightly worn from the foot traffic. Robin showed me to a seat in front of a large computer.

"Ok—" I said it aloud as I typed, "T-E-L-E-P-A-T-H-Y, telepathy." I hit the enter key and suddenly the monitor lit up with millions of entry surrounding the word.

_Telepathy and Me_

_How to Control Your Brother Using Telepathy_

_Get Your Way Every Time with Telepathy_

_Telepathy: Myth or Magic?_

_"I'm telepathic?" Idiot's Guide to Telepathy_

Some of the titles flashed as I scrolled down the page, when I saw something noticeable.

_Help! My Telepathy is Out of Control_

I swallowed hard and kept scrolling.

"Aha, click that one." Robin pointed at a link to a page called _The Many Marvels of Telepathy._

**Defenses: **

**-Psychic Shield: creates a blockade to protect your mind from other telepaths**

**-Telepathic Shadow: the ability to make the user or others invisible to a certain person or thing**

**Offenses: **

**-Audible Inundation: creates voices in another's head**

**-Dark Psyche: communicate with the dark side of a person's personality**

**-Manipulation of Emotion: controlling another persons feelings**

**- Internal Vocalization: speaking as a part of another's mind.**

**-Neurocognitive Deficit: Shut down an opponent's higher brain functions.**

**-Operative Theft: The ability to quickly process, store, upload or download information through another's mind.**

**-Psychic Blockades: Placing "psychic inhibitors" in the minds of adversaries to prevent them from using their abilities.**

**Skills:**

**- Enhanced Learning: The ability to comprehend new things fully and use them accordingly**

**-Mind Sensory: The ability to sense another's presence **

**-Telepathic Connection: the ability to develop a permanent mental bond with any person or thing**

**- Sensory Scanning: to perceive through other beings' senses**

**- Mind Relay: The ability to act as a relay station for a group of minds, allowing said minds to "speak" to one another through the user**

**Users May be Prone to:**

**-Swelling of the brain**

**-Intense headaches**

**In extreme cases, telepathy can lead to greater and more chaotic powers, like telekinesis (ability to move or control objects with one's mind) or omnipathy ( ability to control hundreds or thousands of minds at once; super enhanced telepathy). Telepathy enhances the mind and can be a portal to many other brain powers, even some that you may not know are there due to inactivity or incomplete development of main powers. **

I could tell Robin had finished reading the page when his hand laid gently on my shoulder in a comforting way, "I know it seems like a lot to take—"

"I can't do this. What was I thinking? I'm just me—and I'm not great at controlling my powers as they are, let alone with all the other crap I can do!" I closed my eyes and let a tear fall onto the control panel of the computer.

"No, Salem, you can do this. I will help you, and you have the support of the rest of the team, too."


End file.
